The Two Times She Had Seen Him Behind the Mask
by MusicalBox09
Summary: There were only two instances wherein Christine got to see the other side, the more grotesque side of the Phantom's face. This fic elaborates on both. One-shot. Musical-verse. Takes place during "I Remember.../Stranger Than You Dreamt It" and "Down Once More/Track Down This Murderer." Written in third-person but focuses more on Erik's POV.


**Disclaimer: I do not own Webber's _The Phantom of the Opera_ , nor do I own his songs "Stranger Than You Dreamt It," "Down Once More," or "Masquerade." I paraphrased the former, but for the latter two I felt that quoting it seemed more fitting for this story. All the quoted lyrics are italicized and in bold font, and they are all cited here. Only the genius of Andrew Lloyd Webber's mind could create such masterpieces. **

**I.**

The first time was in his underground lair beneath the opera house. Christine had awoken to the sound of the music the Phantom was composing at that moment. He had been so engrossed and she so curious, he hadn't noticed until she had pried his mask off his face and gasped in terror of his ghastly features underneath. Out of anger, he caught her and threw her to the floor.

He found himself panting as his anger started to ebb away, fear and desperation and bitterness taking its place. He was shielding his disfigured face with his hand from Christine, who was now cowering in fear away from him, lest she turn around and see.

"Can you even bear to look upon me, this... repulsive carcass who longs for beauty, this demon who wishes for heaven?" he spat bitterly. "But, Christine..." She turns to him slowly, still trembling in fear of what he is, of what he might do.

Pausing for a moment, he continued, drawing nearer to her. "But fear can turn to love. One day, you'll learn to see the man I am behind this distortion, behind the monster I may seem to be. The monster who secretly longs for beauty. _Christine-"_ he stopped, feeling the desperation that crept into his voice and sensing her fear. He smiled sadly, hopelessly.

"Oh, Christine."

Erik turned away from her, but then she returned his mask in a warm gesture, one that sparked some hope in him. As he put it on, he pondered upon what she had just done. He felt a little bit of hope that she would be able to love him despite his looks, but deep down he feared that day will never come.

* * *

 **II.**

The second time was much more terrifying than the first but somehow not as scary as before. That was when she pulled his mask off onstage in front of Don Juan Triumphant's massive opening night audience. That moment, he had been vulnerable and desperate when she took his mask off to reveal his true face to a jeering and frightened crowd. With a cry of anger and betrayal, Erik had dragged her to his lair, forcing the wedding gown and a veil on her head.

He knew what he had done was wrong. Not only was he forcing her to marry him, but he was willing to _kill_ (Kill her _fiancee_ ) to get what he wants. He expected her to hate him for it, and she did. But no matter how much he had braced himself for her cold words, they still stung and shattered his heart. The little pieces of hope he had left slipped away from his fingers. He had betrayed her and lost her trust. She didn't love him. She never would.

He was so tired of all this. Once she had made her choice, he could perhaps close his eyes and try to shut the empty feeling away. If their wedding continued, he knew they would be spending their wedding night away from each other in tears. Coldly, he commanded her to make her choice. He dropped her veil and stepped away, not wanting to look at her and let her see his vulnerability. His eyes filled with tears as he murmured vain words of comfort silently to himself.

 _It won't take too long now, Erik..._

A pause. Then she spoke softly, more warmly, as she neared him.

 ** _"Pitiful creature of darkness,_**

 ** _What kind of life have you known?_**

 ** _God give me courage to show you_**

 ** _You are not alone."_**

She turned him around to face her and pressed her lips to his in a swift, fluid motion. His eyes widened in surprise. No one has ever dared to love him, let alone kiss him. No one except for her. He never expected to have his first kiss with the young woman he loved, the only woman he truly loved in the whole world. She pulled away a bit then pulled him into her warm and loving embrace.

His hands were shaking. He didn't know what to do, his arms half-raised in the air. His tears were starting to flow out from his eyes.

 _No, this can't be real._

But it was. And Christine pulled away for a moment before she took his face in her small, delicate hands and kissed him again, caressing the scarred portion of his face and wiping his flowing tears away. His tears wouldn't stop.

 _She's not scared... Or disgusted. Not at all..._

Shakily, he raised his hand to keep her hand on his face. He couldn't believe it. But if it was a dream, he knew he would never want to wake up. Erik closed his eyes and savored her kiss, slowly starting to reciprocate. A warm and fuzzy feeling bloomed from his chest. ( _Is this what love feels like? Oh, how good it feels!_ ) It felt like Christine, his beautiful ray of sunshine, was shining her light into the dark caverns of his soul and fusing his broken heart back together with her love. He felt like he would die of so much joy. He felt alive.

When she pulled away, all the guilt came rushing in. Erik knew that had to set things right, if not for him or for others, for Christine. Stiffly and shakily, with tears still on his cheeks, he walked over to Raoul with a burning candle. Raoul watched him warily. Though he knew that Christine loved him and not the monster before him, Raoul couldn't help but be bothered by her act just now. Swiftly, Erik swiped the candle and Raoul was free. With a firm but wretched cry, Erik urged them to leave and forget him as he sank near the music box and sang along to its eerie tune. His beautiful tenor warbled out the melody that spoke of his life.

 ** _"Masquerade, paper faces on parade,_**

 ** _Masquerade,_**

 ** _Hide your face so the world will never find you."_**

He heard someone shift near him and lifted his head to meet Christine's gaze. He straightened himself up ( _Compose yourself, Erik. Calm down. You're_ fine. _Perfectly fine_.) and walked over to her where she had been clenching something in her fist. She opened her dainty fingers and pushed the ring he put on her finger into his palm.

Shaking his head with a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes, he told her softly but earnestly, "Christine, I love you." Her eyes filled with tears as she pressed her trembling lips to his hands. _It's alright, my dear._ he wanted to say.

 _You don't need to love me as much as I love you. You've already given me the most love in my entire life. I could never force you to make you happy. As long as you're happy, I'll be happy as well._

In her hesitation to leave, Erik nodded to her, and Christine bounded for a welcoming and comforting Raoul. As their song of love echoed through the labyrinth of his lair, the Phantom walked over to his throne and disappeared, never to be seen in the Opera Populaire again.

 **So I'm sort of on a roll here, since I wanted to post the oneshots I wrote, like, a _year_ ago. Just so that I could clear them out of my computer's storage space. :) Will post one more Newsies oneshot after this. Please review. :) Thanks!**


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